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08/26/2020 10:10 AMThe show must go on. Faced with a canceled season of live performances due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the George Flynn Classical Concert Series (GFCCS) will be hosting a virtual 23rd season that consists of 11 past performances. The series will start in September and each performance will be free to view for a limited time only on the series’ website georgeflynnclassicalconcerts.com.
GFCCS President Elaine Godowsky said the official title of the season is Gems from the Archive. Godowsky explained that since the 2014 concert year, performances have been recorded, so the series is sitting on a large collection of past concerts.
Starting on Sept. 1 and running through spring 2021, the series will post two to three past concerts approximately every two months. To view the performances, interested parties can log on to the GFCCS website and view the concerts as many times as they want during that time period until the next performances are posted.
Godowsky said the concerts can be viewed on a computer, tablet, or smartphone or with a smart TV. All performances will be free to watch. Brochures announcing the return of the concerts will be sent out to residents in early September.
The following performances will be featured in the Gems from the Archive season:
September and October
The Pttsinger Family
Michael Feinstein
Vince Giordano &
The Nighthawks
November and December
Barrage
The Whiffenpoofs
January and February
The Swingle Singers
The Wallingford Symphony
Orchestra/ Leonard
Bernstein’s 100th Birthday
Celebration
March and April
Fandango
Hartford Chorale with Opera
Theater of Connecticut
June
The Hot Sardines
Ukulele Orchestra of
Great Britain
The George Flynn concerts are a staple of the Clinton arts community. In a typical year, the series holds several sold-out concerts featuring world renowned musicians from both near and far that are free to attend. The concerts in the series are provided for free thanks to a trust established by the late Clinton resident George Flynn in 1997.
However, due to the ongoing pandemic no performances have taken place since December 2019. Godowsky said she’d been inundated with questions about the future of the concerts from people who missed them. In an effort to still offer something to the shoreline’s music lovers, Godowsky said that she and the rest of the board members got together and decided to find some of their favorite concerts that were recorded to include in the virtual season.
“We’re trying our bests to give people some joy during this time,” said Godowsky.
Godowsky pointed out that while other virtual concerts that various entities have made available feature only snippets of performances, the George Flynn concerts will be made available in their entirety.
In choosing what acts to include in the season, Godowsky said the group went for a mix of acts that have local connections as well as ones that are more well known.
“We’re an eclectic group,” said Godowsky, who added that she terms the musical genre of concerts as “classical but also the classics.”
The concerts mainly draw attendees from Clinton and the surrounding towns, but Godowsky said that each performer featured in the virtual season will be promoting the concerts online as well. Godowsky said she’s hopeful the extra publicity may bring in viewers from well beyond Clinton and raise awareness of the series going forward.
“It’s kind of exciting to do this, I hope we have great success doing this,” said Godowsky.
The Future
In addition to the virtual concerts, the series has redesigned its website to be more user friendly. The new website is expected to launch during the week of Aug. 17. The website will allow users to buy tickets and make donations to the trust directly. Godowsky said she hopes the concert series can begin hosting live concerts again sometime in July or August 2021.
“The web design is great, but the fact we can give something back to people who miss the concerts is the best part,” said Godowsky.